Not the Most Pleasant Way to Meet Up with An Old Friend
by DP-PJO-SPN-Girl297
Summary: Matt Sloan had plenty of time to think about his life choices while Carson called the fire department. He was currently in a predicament he'd only ever seen characters in cartoons be in, hanging from his underwear from the flagpole. It didn't really help that today was laundry day and therefore he was stuck wearing american flag underwear. Stupid La Rue.


**First story for me. I decided a oneshot was probably best to start out with on fanfiction. I mean, I've written things before, but nothing noteworthy, really. So I'll just, you know, leave this with the PJO fandom. I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any related titles, by the way. Knock yourselves out.**

Matt Sloan had plenty of time to think about his life choices while Carson called the fire department. He was currently in a predicament he'd only ever seen characters in cartoons be in, hanging from his underwear from the flagpole. It didn't really help that today was laundry day and therefore he was stuck wearing american flag underwear. Nearly everybody gathered around him far down on the ground was trying not to asphyxiate from laughter.

Clarisse La Rue. The name of the girl who had put him in this very predicament. Tall, tan, and curvy. A little less bulk from all that muscle and she could pass as a model. But the way she was, she was perfect for boosting Matt's ego. That morning it had looked like the new girl was going to be the perfect new target for teasing, because all girls were insecure about their shape, right? Too much muscle added on weight, and weight was insecurity.

It hadn't exactly gone to plan. While Clarisse and that other boy, Will Solace, were finding their way around the school with Stacey Cambridge, Matt and his buddies had insulted her a little from afar, figuring out what to say. Clarisse was a year older than Matt and Will, but they were all in the same grade because she'd skipped a year. That, and the whole musculature thing, gave them plenty of material for teasing.

Needless to say, Matt thought as he was carefully lowered down to the ground, it hadn't exactly gone as planned. Matt's mother engulfed him in a giant hug as soon as his feet touched the ground, crying something about how she was so scared, and worried. Matt impatiently pushed her off and scanned the area for Clarisse. She was _not_ getting away with this.

Matt's eyes skipped over his father discussing something with his lawyer, a few kids chuckling at Matt behind their hands, and some people chatting animatedly about something while gesturing at the flag pole. A couple teachers stood in a group, talking about the misadventure. Matt saw Will Solace checking his phone, and standing a few feet away, the devil herself. Matt grit his teeth and began to walk over to them. Nobody would blame him if he hit her now.

"They should be here any minute," Will was saying to Clarisse when Matt got within earshot of them. Neither of them had noticed him yet. "I know he was an idiot, and he was begging for it, but this?" Will motioned to the flag pole. "You realize a mortal could die from a fall like that? Clarisse, considering who his father is...I don't know if Chiron can get you out of this one."

Clarisse just shifted her position and glared at Will. "The little runt deserved it."

"I know," Will agreed, making a placating gesture. "But still..." he sounded grave. He better.

Matt was just getting in range when the screech of breaks filled the air. He looked over with everybody else and saw a white van parking at the curb. Will smiled a bit and said, "Look, let's just see what the damage is after Chiron talks to his Dad, and then see."

Clarisse grunted in response. The passenger side of the van opened, and a boy climbed out. He shut the door behind him and turned to open the door to the back part of the van. He reached tot he side and pulled out a big sheet of metal attacked to the bottom part of the van on a bar. He turned it down so it looked like a ramp and then stepped into the van, helping a man in a wheelchair down the ramp, before putting the ramp back up. He then closed the door, and started over towards Matt's father and the lawyer with the man in the wheelchair.

After a quick conversation, the boy left the man with the wheelchair to talk with Matt's father and the lawyer, scanning the area surrounding him with stunning sea green eyes. Matt partially hid his face for some reason, but even his partially obscured vision couldn't hide him from seeing most of the single girls in the area giving appreciating looks to the boy.

Matt could tell why the boy was getting attention from members of the opposite sex, though he wished he didn't. The boy was taller, tall than Matt by at least four inches. He had windswept black hair that hung over his eyebrows, but didn't obscure sea green eyes. He strolled towards Matt, and Matt started to panic because he had thought he'd recognized the boy from somewhere, but then he just walked straight past him.

"Can it, Prissy," Clarisse snarled at the boy when he got close enough to participate in her and Will's conversation. The boy started laughing, a smile splitting his face and making him look even more handsome. Matt could have sworn he saw a few girls swoon, and sharp spikes of jealousy ran through him. He was the school's heartthrob, the school's bad boy. This guy hadn't been here for more than five minutes and he was already stealing Matt's following.

"Why are you here?" Will asked the boy. "I thought it was just going to be Argus and Chiron."

"Prissy" grinned at Will, one side of his mouth going up higher than the other, which should have really diverted the girls, not made more look. "It was supposed to be," he started out, tilting his head to the side a bit. "But I was at camp this week anyway, 'cause, you know," he made a motion with his hands that gave absolutely no clue to Matt what he meant, but the other two nodded in understanding. "And I heard a certain _Matthew Sloan_ had been strung up by his underwear from a flagpole by my favorite War God's daughter, so I just had to come and see the wreckage."

"Why?" Clarisse asked rudely, with no pretenses before. No ridiculous beating around the bust, just a straight up question.

The boy shrugged. "In seventh grade I went to school with him. For memories sake." Matt thought desperately back to seventh grade at Meriweather Prep. Which year was it...?

Will looked thoughtful. "Wasn't seventh grade the year when you blew up the gym because of the Lastrygonians?"

Oh. Then that meant that the boy was Percy Jackson. No way that that runt had outgrown Matt in both looks and height in the short time period of three years! And where had those muscles come from all of a sudden? Was this Percy after puberty? Mother Nature should know better than to squander all of her good looks on a few select people, and instead help everybody become marginally more attractive.

"Yep," Percy chimed. "Matt's the one Annabeth punched in the face."

Annabeth? The blonde girl, maybe? Matt could still feel her fist impacting with his nose.

The man in the wheelchair started wheeling himself over. All three turned to face him.

"It looks like he provoked you," the man said, stopping in front of Clarisse and the two boys. "But what you did..."

"Can you get her out of trouble?" Will pushed.

The man in the wheelchair sighed. "We should be able to mend most of the damage, but this will be an infringement on your permanent record, Clarisse. It could prevent you from getting into the college of your choice."

Clarisse grunted, seemly uncaring. Will and the boy Matt thought was Percy looked at her, and the boy Matt thought was Percy tsk'ed. "We can cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Whatever," Clarisse grumbled, shoving past the three males and making her way tot he white van. Will made a nervous sound before following after her. Wheelchair man maneuvered his wheelchair to follow, but then glanced back at the boy Matt thought was Percy, who was scanning the crowd with his eyes.

"Coming, Percy?" he asked peacefully, as if he already knew the answer.

Percy made a low whistling sound. "Yeah. It's just, really? Matt Sloan?"

"And?" Wheelchair Man pushed when Percy fell silent, as if sensing there was more by the note in the air.

"Just that it's being marked on Clarisse's record when not only is it his fault, but he completely deserved it...And I'm standing here, not completely convinced that if I saw him I wouldn't walk up and punch him in the face. Not just for Clarisse, but Tyson still talks about him when he's down. It's just...UGH!" Percy threw his hands in the air. "Never mind. Let's just go."

He grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and pushed the man back to the van, loading him up safely with the ramp. Matt watch the van drive away, thinking. The he strolled across the school courtyard to argue with his father about the permanent record thing. Matt didn't think he deserved it, but maybe Clarisse didn't either.


End file.
